I have got a very picky maltese. To get him to eat, i have started mixing canned food with his dry food. The dry food is the same for all meals - i have started feeding Eagle Pack Holistic Fish.

I use different canned food to mix with the dry food, eg. solid gold, eagle pack, canidae, pinnacle etc. Not sure, if this method is right but it sure works for him cos' if he stops eating, he develop gastritis and passed out mucous stool. So, i just have to get him to eat something each meal.

Carly is my first really really really picky eater. I mean, we all say "just put food down and pick it up after 10 or 20mins, she'll get hungry, and she'll eat" but she didn't she ended up getting sick a couple times and losing a pound or two twice after gaining it back once. It didn't matter what dry food she had. The vet said other than the things that've always been wrong with her, she had no reason not to eat.
I add a lot of natural stuff to her Innova EVO so she eats. You feed less on the food because its higher quality and more concentrated that other kinds, which was good for her because she never ate the 'required' ammounts listen on the bags. She gets yogurt often, raw fruits & veggies, low sodium (homemade ) broths, and sometimes raw meats. She used to eat the added parts and leave the dog food, so I had to really thoroughly mix it. She's a brat, lol

To those who have had personal experience or know of a friend with picky/finicky dogs, which brand of food have you (or they) had success with?

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I have the same question that Clee has. My golden is what I call a nibbler. It takes her all day to eat one cup of food, no matter how long its been since she's ate last. She also won't eat if anyone is in the room, that includes the cats.. I would let her take her time with the food but I have two cats that like her food more than their's. The only thing that she will eat all at once is the cat food. I have tried adding thing to her food like canned food but she still takes all day.Any suggestions that won't cost me a fourtain(sp?).

if she doesnt enjoy eating when other people or cats are around... why don't you have her food bowl in a separate area/room. and I don't see a problem with free-feeding her kibble (leaving her food out for her to eat whenever she wants).

i wouldn't suggest letting her eat cat food too often though... dogs and cats have different nutritional requirements.

i started this thread as more for kibble suggestions for picky eaters but i hope that helps.

Mine is picky eater too, therefore maybe thinking let him eat Solid Gold - barking at the moon, because he never eat the required amounts , same as yours, for those kibbles that have about 20-30% protein.

Brattina88 said:

Carly is my first really really really picky eater. I mean, we all say "just put food down and pick it up after 10 or 20mins, she'll get hungry, and she'll eat" but she didn't she ended up getting sick a couple times and losing a pound or two twice after gaining it back once. It didn't matter what dry food she had. The vet said other than the things that've always been wrong with her, she had no reason not to eat.
I add a lot of natural stuff to her Innova EVO so she eats. You feed less on the food because its higher quality and more concentrated that other kinds, which was good for her because she never ate the 'required' ammounts listen on the bags. She gets yogurt often, raw fruits & veggies, low sodium (homemade ) broths, and sometimes raw meats. She used to eat the added parts and leave the dog food, so I had to really thoroughly mix it. She's a brat, lol

I've never served dry alone... all my Goldens were always fed together and each one licked their own bowl clean within 5 minutes or less.... then they all hung around until the last one finished and checked out each other's bowl for a last lick of nothing ( except the 2 who left their peas ! )

Boris is picky too. We feed him Innova adult dry with nuro canned food (I think it's the right name, it's the 95% meat brand). If he doesn't eat, we just put it away after 15 minutes and put it in the fridge and give him back at his next meal with another cup added to it. He still occasionally doesn't eat one meal, but then he gets a bigger one in the evening so it's ok. But he will eat when he's hungry because he knows the food won't be there forever. Free feeding with a picky dog is a bad idea IMO.

Coco, my maltese-shihtzu is a very picky eater. She hates kibble with a passion. I'm giving her EVO right now but mixed with stuff b/c she went 3 whole days without eating (it was my attempt to be harsh and make her eat dog food!). She enjoys eating food off the table. She insists on me feeding her either with my hand or with a fork. LOL... it's kinda funny how I noticed that there were other Maltese and Shih-tzu owners that were experiencing feeding problems. Maybe it's their breed... they refuse to be doggies haha But I love Coco just the same, she wouldn't be Coco if she wasn't so picky!

Brattina88 - Carly and Coco look very alike. I haven't figured out how to post a picture or else I'd post one up for you to compare.

My golden is what I call a nibbler. It takes her all day to eat one cup of food, no matter how long its been since she's ate last. She also won't eat if anyone is in the room, that includes the cats.. I would let her take her time with the food but I have two cats that like her food more than their's. The only thing that she will eat all at once is the cat food. I have tried adding thing to her food like canned food but she still takes all day.Any suggestions that won't cost me a fourtain(sp?).

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mypy,
What you need to do is enforce the NILIF policy where your dog has to earn his meals. Food aggression is a big no no. What you could do is feed smaller meals, mix in canned food, sardines, canned salmon. Perhaps a few small raw meals. Just feed a small amount, prepare, make him sit put down the bowl, let him eat. If he doesn't eat it within 15 minutes. Pick up the bowl, cover and put in the fridge. Don't leave the food out. In a few hours try adding a little warm water to the food, stir and serve again.

Make the food interesting. Can you imagine how uninterested you would be if someone put a bowl of dry cereal in front of you.